The project has the potential to have a huge social impact on Northwich. Initiatives we have already been involved in are:
Social Value is the long-term commitment by an organisation to giving back to society, creating benefits beyond physical buildings. Social Value is measured by actions an organisation takes to improve the world around it.
A £500 donation (plus £500 from Northgate project) was made at the end of November 2025 to the Council’s Children in Care/ Care Leavers Christmas plans. The donation was used to contribute to Christmas vouchers and hampers for care leavers who live independently in the community and may not have access to a ‘family’ Christmas. Additionally, the funds for the Children in Care have been used towards a Christmas event with foster carers and our children.
The Community Advisory Group has now been set up to ensure that local people can influence the project’s social value offer, ensuring locally informed decisions. Its recommendations will feed into our Joint Member Working Group.
We had a good response for members following a targeted campaign and have representatives from local schools, Northwich Community Partnership, Northwich Town Council, Northwich Rotary, local businesses sitting on the group.
We have sponsored an application from Down Syndrome Cheshire, based in Northwich, for its VINCI foundation (parent company of ION Developments) scheme. If successful, the charity will receive £10,000 towards kitchen improvements in their facility.
VINCI, Medlock, EQUANS and the Council joined up to offer a ‘Meet the Buyer’ event to showcase opportunities to give local suppliers an opportunity to meet town centre construction partners. This took place on 16 February 2026 and was fully booked. The Council’s Let’s Talk Business Team provided best practice advice at the event on how to tender for contracts and complete tender applications.
ION Developments attended the Future Ready event on 9 March 2026 which supported over 140 local students from schools across Cheshire and Warrington.
They are also planning a work experience week with Leftwich County High School for c20 Year 10 Students between the 13-17 July 2026, hosted locally in Northwich. The development team are committed to providing workshops on design, engineering, planning and more.